Disposable cover for use in an incubator for premature infants

ABSTRACT

The invention refers to a disposable cover for use in an incubator for premature infants comprising a moisture-pervious surface layer and a preferably moisture-impervious back sheet, wherein the total weight of the cover before use is communicated to the caregiver by indication on said cover, a label accompanying said cover or on the package for said cover. The cover may further be provided with a wetness indicator.

This application is a national phase of PCT/SE2006/001500 filed Dec. 22,2006.

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to a disposable cover for use in anincubator for premature infants. The cover comprises a moisture-pervioussheet intended to face the premature infant during use and a back sheet,preferably substantially moisture-impervious.

BACKGROUND

Premature infants come into the world earlier than full-term infants.Prematurity occurs when a pregnancy lasts fewer than 37 weeks; full-terminfants are born 38 to 42 weeks after the mother's last menstrualperiod. Premature infants borne as early as after 22 to 23 weeks maysurvive, this is however rare. After 25 to 26 week the infants havequite high chance of surviving, about 44% of the infants born between 25and 26 week survive.

Full-term infants normally weigh around 2.5-5 kg at the time of birth.Due to many recent advances, more than 90% of premature babies who weigh800 grams or more survive. Those who weigh more than 500 grams have a40% to 50% chance of survival, although the risk for complications isgreater.

Premature infants have many special needs that make their care differentfrom that of full-term infants, which is why they often begin theirlives after delivery in a neonatal intensive care unit. The neonatalintensive care unit is designed to provide an atmosphere that limitsstress to the infant and meets basic needs of warmth, nutrition, andprotection to assure proper growth and development.

In most neonatal intensive care unit the nurses try to concentrate theircare into discrete sessions and otherwise allow the infants to sleepundisturbed. Some of the tasks which are done regularly are; measuringthe infant's temperature, mouth care, bathing and changing of diapers orcovers. In order not to have something chafing against the sensitivepremature infant's skin an absorbent cover may be placed in theincubator instead of a diaper being put on the infant. In order to fitinto the incubator the large cover intended for adult care is cut into asuitable size. At regular intervals these small covers are changed, upto one time per hour in order to control if the baby has urinated.Before and after use the nurses weigh the diapers and/or covers in orderto keep track of the infants discharge of urine and faeces. This isimportant information in order to assess if the basal functions arefunctioning correctly, such as for example the kidney and the urinarytracts, and as a further step, in order for the caregivers to comparethe input of nutrition and the discharge of urine and faeces for anevaluation of the nutrition uptake of the infant. Since it may bedifficult to detect if the baby has urinated just by looking into theincubator when the baby is lying on top of the cover, the covers areoften changed more frequently than necessary. This results in morehandling of the small premature infants than necessary, which are knownto feel best with as few factors of disturbance as possible. For thepersonnel working at these departments the cutting of the covers and theweighing of said covers before and after use are extra working moments.Cutting the large cover into smaller pieces further leads to open sideedges of the covers often containing cellulose fibers, which may causethe small cellulose fibers to spread and dust in the incubator.

EP1180370 describes a covering sheet for bedding articles, such asmattress and pillow covering sheet, having a surface area from 15 m² to0.3 m². However this is a very broad range with no indications on how toadjust the covering sheet in width and length in order to be of a sizethat may fit into an incubator.

JP2002224093 discloses an electronic excretion sensor for diaper orurine absorption pad that calculates the amount of excretion absorbed bydiaper by sensor output.

WO2004021944 discloses a sensing device in the form of a magnetoelasticfilm for detecting wetness in absorbent articles such as bed protector.US20050234414 and US20060069362 disclose diapers with wetness indicationby visible colour change. US 20050195085 describes an electronic wetnesssensors for diapers.

In view of the above stated problems in the field of care of prematureinfants and in view of the prior art there is still a need for a coverspecially adapted for use in an incubator, which cover is easy to useand further reduces the working moments of the caregivers and preventunnecessary handling of the sensitive premature infants.

SUMMARY

In view of this prior art it is an object of the present invention toprovide a disposable cover specially adapted for an incubator forpremature infants which disposable cover further reduces the workingmoments of the caregivers and is easy to use.

The above defined problems are solved by the present invention by adisposable cover for use in an incubator for premature infants, saidcover having a defined total weight before use which weight iscommunicated to the caregiver by indication on said cover, a labelaccompanying said cover or on the package for said cover.

In one aspect said disposable cover has a defined weight within atolerance of ±1 g, preferably ±0.5 g.

In one embodiment the total weight of said cover is printed onto saidcover. In another embodiment the total weight of said cover is embossedonto said cover. In a further embodiment the total weight is provided asa note in connection with said cover. In still a further embodiment thetotal weight of said cover is printed or marked onto the package of saidcover.

In a further embodiment said disposable cover comprises a wetnessindicator.

In still a further embodiment said disposable cover comprises a sensorindicating the presence of proteins (albumin), blood and/or unwantedbacteria in the urine.

In one aspect the cover is a laminate comprising a surface layerconsisting of an apertured plastic film or a nonwoven material and apreferably moisture-impervious backsheet.

In a further aspect the cover is a laminate comprising a surface layerconsisting of synthetic fibers or an apertured plastic film and apreferably moisture-impervious backsheet.

In a still further aspect the cover is a laminate consisting of asurface layer being an apertured plastic film or a nonwoven material anda preferably moisture-impervious backsheet. This however does notexclude that other components not forming part of the laminatestructure, such as a wetness indicator or other sensor, are included.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail,with reference to the appended drawings showing example embodiments ofthe disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a disposable according tovarious embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of a disposable according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to the present invention, an exemplary embodiment of which isshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a disposable cover 1 intended for use in anincubator for premature infants is provided, comprising amoisture-pervious sheet 3 intended to face the premature infant duringuse and a preferably moisture-impervious backsheet 4. In order to reducethe working moment of weighing the disposable cover before use, thespecified total weight before use of said cover may be communicated tothe caregiver by indication 2 on said cover, a label accompanying saidcover or on the package for said cover.

In one aspect of the invention the disposable covers are each weighed,in the production line or after production, and the specific weight ofthe cover subsequently printed or in any way marked onto said cover oronto a label accompanying said cover. In another aspect each cover isproduced with such a high accuracy in terms of weight that it ispossible to indicate the total weight of one disposable cover on thepackage, this meaning that all the disposable covers comprised in thepackage substantially have the same weight. It would of course also inthis later case be possible to indicate the weight onto the cover or onan accompanying label.

The discharge of urine from a premature infant may be in the range fromabout 2 ml (about 2 g) to about 0.5 dl (about 50 g), so in order for thecaregiver to perform a proper assessment of the discharge of urine andfaeces and thus an analysis of the infants health status, the tolerancefor the weight indication preferably is ±1.0 g, more preferably ±0.5 g.

This accuracy may be achieved by using as surface layer a prefabricatedmaterial, preferably synthetic fibres, since these materials often havean constant density and a plastic film, for example a polypropylenefilm, as backsheet material. Alternatively, a prefabricated laminate,comprising the same materials as above, will also have a constantdensity.

In order to keep the weight of the cover as constant as possible afterthe weight is determined, the cover may be packed separately in amoisture-impervious package. An example of such a moisture-imperviouspackage is disclosed in EP 1210277.

In a preferred embodiment, in order to fit into the incubator saiddisposable cover has a length of 10-60 cm and a width of 5-40 cm,preferably a length of 12-50 cm and a width of 6-30 cm, more preferablya length of 15-45 cm and a width of 7-25 cm.

Since the premature infants are small in comparison with the incubator,it is not of great importance that said cover extends throughout theentire incubator, the essential thing is that it covers the area whichmay be wetted during the discharge of urine and/or faeces. Sometimes itmay even be advantageous not to cover the entire bottom of the incubatorsince a smaller cover will be easier to change and also to handle, forexample during weighing of said cover.

The cover of the present invention is a laminate made up of differentlayers comprising at least a moisture-pervious sheet and a second,preferably moisture-impervious backsheet.

The moisture-pervious surface layer may be of any conventional type suchas a nonwoven material, e g spunbonded, meltblown, carded,hydroentangled, wetlaid etc. Suitable nonwoven materials can be composedof natural fibres, such as wood pulp or cotton fibres, manmade fibres,such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, viscose etc. or from amixture of natural and manmade fibres. The surface layer material mayfurther be composed of tow fibres, which may be bonded to each other ina bonding pattern, as e.g. disclosed in EP-A-1 035 818. Further examplesof surface layer materials are porous foams, apertured plastic filmsetc. The materials suited as surface layer materials should be soft andnon-irritating to the skin and be readily penetrated by body fluid. Thesurface layer may also comprise absorptive means i.e. comprising forexample absorbent fibers.

The backsheet may consist of a thin plastic film, e.g. a polyethylene orpolypropylene film, a nonwoven material coated with a liquid imperviousmaterial, a hydrophobic nonwoven material, which resists liquidpenetration. Laminates of plastic films and nonwoven materials may alsobe used. Further the backsheet material may optionally be breathable.

The disposable cover may further comprise an absorbent layer, dispersedbetween the surface layer and the backsheet.

Since the cover may be used mainly in order to collect and consequentlyweigh the discharge of urine and faeces, the cover of the presentinvention may in one preferred embodiment be a laminate comprising asurface layer consisting of an apertured plastic film or a nonwovenmaterial and a preferably moisture-impervious backsheet. This means thatsaid cover will not comprise an absorbent layer.

In a further preferred embodiment the cover of the present invention isa laminate comprising a surface layer consisting of synthetic fibers oran apertured plastic film and a preferably moisture-imperviousbacksheet. The advantage of such a laminate is that it absorbsessentially no moisture from the surroundings which could have an impacton the weight of said cover.

In a further embodiment, in order to reduce unnecessary handling of thepremature infants, the disposable cover may further comprise a wetnessindicator, indicating when the infant has urinated, which may otherwisebe difficult to detect, especially if the urine has very little colour.For example, a disposable cover including a wetness indicator is weighedafter the wetness indicator indicates that the disposable cover hasbecome wet. The wetness indicator may be located on any side of thesurface layer, provided that the wetness indicator remains visible fromthe body contacting side of the disposable cover. The wetness indicatormay comprise a visible change that is selected from the group consistingof a colour change, a graphic change or a combination there of.

In one embodiment the wetness indicator is a chemical compound beingcolourless in its dry state and changes colour to a humanly visiblecolour such as, but not limited to, green, blue, red, pink or anothercolour when exposed to moisture and especially urine. In anotherembodiment the chemical compound instead comprises one or more coloursin its dry state and turns colourless or changes colour upon wetting.The wetness indicator or substance may further be a chemical compoundwhich dyes with pH transition, preferably at about pH8-9, i.e. apH-indicator, such as litmus that is absorbed onto a filter paper i.e. alitmus paper. In another embodiment the indicator consists of a colouredgraphic, which may either turn colourless or change graphic or colour ofthe graphic upon wetting.

In still another embodiment the wetness indicator is an electronichumidity or wetness sensor.

The disposable cover may also comprise sensors indicating presence ofproteins (albumin), blood or unwanted bacteria in the urine, preferablyby a readily visible colour indication.

Such wetness indicators or other sensors that may be incorporated arewell known in the art and will not be further described herein.

In order to prevent contact of the chemical compound with the baby, theindicator may be covered with a material layer, the indicator may forexample be dispersed in a highly absorbent tissue layer placed betweenthe backsheet and the surface layer in order for the urine to spreadwell on the layer comprising the indicator and the indicating colour tobe readily visible. In order to increase the visibility of such a colourchange the wetness indicator the layer comprising the wetness indicatormay be arranged in such a way that a tab of said layer is protrudinghorizontally from said cover.

1. A packaged disposable cover for an incubator for premature infants, the packaged disposable cover comprising a package and at least one disposable cover, the package enclosing the disposable cover prior to use, the disposable cover being dimensioned and configured for use in an incubator for premature infants, the disposable cover comprising a moisture-pervious surface layer intended to face the premature infant during use and a back sheet, wherein the total weight of said disposable cover before use is communicated to a caregiver by indication on said cover, wherein said disposable cover has a width of 5-40 cm and a length of 10-60 cm; said disposable cover has a defined weight within a tolerance of ±1 g; the total weight of said disposable cover is printed, marked, or embossed onto said cover; and the total weight is the actual weight of the individual disposable cover.
 2. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein the total weight of said disposable cover before use is printed onto said cover.
 3. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein the total weight of said disposable cover before use is embossed onto said cover.
 4. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein the disposable cover comprises a wetness indicator.
 5. The disposable cover according to claim 4, wherein said wetness indicator comprises a colorant changing colour upon wetting.
 6. The disposable cover according to claim 5, wherein said colorant is a pH-indicator.
 7. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein the disposable cover comprises a sensor indicating the presence of proteins in the urine, blood in the urine or unwanted bacteria in the urine.
 8. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein said cover is a laminate of the moisture pervious surface layer and the back sheet, wherein the moisture-pervious surface layer is an apertured plastic film or a nonwoven material and the back sheet is moisture-impervious.
 9. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein said cover is a laminate comprising the moisture pervious surface layer and the back sheet, wherein the moisture-pervious surface layer is of synthetic fibers or an apertured plastic film and the back sheet is moisture-impervious.
 10. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein said disposable cover has a defined weight within a tolerance of ±0.5 g.
 11. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein said disposable cover has a length of 12-50 cm and a width of 6-30 cm.
 12. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein said disposable cover has a length of 15-45 cm and a width of 7-25 cm.
 13. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein the disposable cover comprises a sensor indicating the presence of albumin, in the urine.
 14. The disposable cover according to claim 1, wherein the disposable cover comprises a sensor indicating the presence of blood in the urine.
 15. A method of monitoring basal functions of a premature infant, comprising: individually weighing a disposable cover before use for an incubator, the disposable cover comprising a moisture-pervious surface layer intended to face the premature infant during use and a back sheet; indicating the individual before use weight of each said disposable cover on said cover, a label accompanying said cover or on a package for said cover; placing the disposable cover in the incubator with the premature infant; and weighing the disposable cover after use.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the disposable cover includes a wetness indicator and the disposable cover is weighed after the wetness indicator indicates that the disposable cover has become wet.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the disposable cover is individually weighed by a manufacturer and wrapped in a moisture impervious package prior to use.
 18. A method of monitoring basal functions of a premature infant, comprising: determining the weight of a disposable cover before use for an incubator, the disposable cover comprising a moisture-pervious surface layer intended to face the premature infant during use and a back sheet; indicating the individual before use weight of each said disposable cover on said cover, a label accompanying said cover or on a package for said cover; placing the disposable cover in the incubator with the premature infant; and weighing the disposable cover after use.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the disposable cover includes a wetness indicator and the disposable cover is weighed after the wetness indicator indicates that the disposable cover has become wet.
 20. The disposable cover according to claim 18, wherein the determined weight is the actual weight of the disposable cover. 